Not Just the Tudors

In the cut-throat world of the Elizabethan court, Sir Christopher Hatton became one of Elizabeth I’s favourites. After catching her eye in 1561, Hatton was quickly promoted to the Privy Council, makin...

26 Jan 202341min

In 1628, a Dutch East India flagship called Batavia set sail from the Netherlands, never to reach her destination. Eight months into the voyage, the ship was wrecked on coral reef off the western coas...

23 Jan 202326min

In Elizabethan England, swords were everywhere. Hanging on girdles, used in plays and depicted in paintings, they were an important marker of status and martial prowess. Swordplay was a popular martia...

19 Jan 202337min

When strange signs appeared in the sky over Quebec in 1660, the French settlers started to worry about evil forces in their midst. Then, a teenaged servant called Barbe Hallay started to act as if she...

16 Jan 202357min

In April 1538 - to celebrate the birth of Prince Edward and the 30th anniversary of his reign - King Henry VIII began work on a royal palace in Surrey, designed to be unequalled as a celebration of th...

12 Jan 202339min

We have long been taught that modern global history began when the 'Old World' encountered the 'New', when Christopher Columbus 'discovered' America in 1492. But, in a groundbreaking new book, Dr. Car...

9 Jan 202344min

The Three Musketeers paints a picture of King Louis XIII of France as a rather weak monarch controlled by his powerful chief minister Cardinal Richelieu. Louis’ reign is generally thought of as being ...

5 Jan 202344min

Many of us are seeing in a new year, but of course there are, even today, several different ways of marking dates and years in various parts of the world. The most popular calendar, though, is the Gre...

2 Jan 202328min